Kerala has the highest divorce rate among the states in the country

Thiruvananthapuram: A proposal made by the Kerala State Youth Commission (KSYC) might be a key in halting a high rate of divorce in Kerala which has earned it the moniker of The Divorce Capital of India. KSYC chairman lauded Pre-marital counseling by the Church as a good example worth replicating.

Responding to a proposal by KSYC, the Kerala government might make the pre-marital education mandatory for couples to deal with high rates of divorces and cases of marital disputes in the state.

According to R V Rajesh, the KSYC chairman, Pre-marital counseling by the Church within the Christian community is an example; there is a need to replicate such initiatives across the society. The government has responded favorably to the proposal.

A concept paper by the KSYC for the pre-marital education Act, quoted statistics that reveal a whopping 700 per cent increase in number of cases in Kerala's family courts between 2005 and 2013 (from 8,546 to 56,474).

Home to 1.96 lakh of the 23.43 lakh divorced women in India, the state has also witnessed a steady rise in the number of suicides and cases of divorce and estrangement due to alcoholism and domestic abuse.

The commission has recommended compulsory pre-marital education for registration of marriages to garner support for what could be the first-of-its-kind Act in India. A final draft would see further recommendations added during the recent consultation of the KSYC proposal.